Disco Corporation (Head Office: Ota-ku; President Kazuma Sekiya) has developed DFX2400, a fully automatic expander compatible with Φ300 mm wafers. The DFX2400 will be displayed for the first time at SEMICON Japan 2017 (December 13-15, Tokyo Big Sight).

Development Background

The size of semiconductor chips installed in mobile devices such as smartphones is becoming more miniaturized. As the demand for sensors for IoT increases, it is expected that the production of small chip devices will also increase. Stealth dicing (SD) using lasers is an effective form of dicing for this application. After SD, the dicing tape is expanded resulting in chip division. However, in the subsequent die bonding step it is necessary to retain the kerf width.
Meanwhile, display driver IC chips installed in LCD and OLED devices have a large aspect ratio, and the number of division lines varies greatly. Thus, the kerf width in the short side direction could not be maintained sufficiently using conventional methods, resulting in concerns regarding poor pickup during die bonding.

Features of the DFX2400

Employs a two-way (XY) expansion method.

• Prior to mounting to the tape frame, the dicing tape is expanded in the X and Y directions separately.
• Expansion control is possible based on the chip size and shape, and is especially effective for long chips.
• Expansion control is also possible when the elongation ratio differs due to the width direction and roll direction of the dicing tape.
• After expansion, heat shrinking^* is not necessary, as dicing tape without sag is attached to the tape frame
• Equipment size: W1,560 x D3,833 x H1,800 mm

* The process of removing sag from the dicing tape by shrinking the tape through the application of heat.

Future Schedule